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That has left Italian equities overall more cheaply valued than even battered UK shares (.dMIGB00000PUS), which are trading at a 33% discount to global peers. Goldman Sachs estimates that each 10 bps rise in sovereign spreads takes around 2% off Italian bank shares and 1.5% off the FTSE MIB index. Conflict in Ukraine and in the Middle East meanwhile threaten to spark a fresh surge in energy prices and weaken growth. UniCredit shares are up almost 80% this year and among the best performing euro zone banking shares. Fidelity International portfolio manager Alberto Chiandetti, said he was chasing opportunities in battered industrials and consumer sectors in the FTSE Italia Star index.

Persons: Claudia Greco, Chris Hiorns, Fitch, Goldman Sachs, Giuseppe Sersale, Andrea Scauri, Lemanik, Scauri, LSEG, Alberto Chiandetti, Joice Alves, Danilo Masoni, Dhara Ranasinghe, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, Companies, LONDON, Barclays, European Commission, FTSE Italia Star, Anthilia, Banco, Fidelity International, FTSE, Thomson Locations: Milan, Silicon, Italy, Companies Italy, MILAN, Germany, Ukraine, iShares, Europe, dei, London

The Treasury will issue new economic targets on Wednesday providing the framework for a budget in which Meloni will attempt to keep her tax-cutting promises while also lowering the fiscal deficit. "This budget is Meloni's first real economic test since she came to power last October," said Tim Jones, euro zone analyst for market consultancy firm Medley Advisors. Meloni has much less room for manoeuvre than when she hiked deficit targets in her first budget a year ago. Episodes targeting airlines and investors in Italy's 307- billion-euro ($326.74 billion) bad loan market have followed a similar pattern. Meloni subsequently said no measures were planned regarding non-performing loans, but her party's proposal is still before parliament and uncertainty persists.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Tim Jones, she's, Morgan Stanley, Reuters.G Rome, Roberto Perotti, Meloni's, Valentina Za, Francesco Canepa, Giuseppe Fonte, Sara Rossi, Gianluca Semeraro, Ed Osmond, Giselda Organizations: Treasury, Advisors, European Central Bank, Reuters, Ryanair, Milan's, Bank of, ECB, Thomson Locations: ROME, Italy, Greece, Rome, Italian, Italy's, Brussels, EU, Milan

☆ Agnelli family's Exor buys $2.8 bln stake in Philips
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Tosterling Bart H. Meijer | Bart H. Meijer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Philips Healthcare headquarters is seen in Best, Netherlands August 30, 2018. The group combines two of the three sectors Exor targets in its investment strategy: healthcare and technology. While not an activist investor, Exor aims to play an active role in supporting Philips' strategy, the source said. "Exor's substantial investment underlines their confidence in Philips' transformation into a healthcare technology company and its growth and value potential," Philips Chairman Feike Sijbesma said in a statement. Philips last month reported core profit of 453 million euros and slightly upgraded financial targets for the full year.

Persons: de, Exor, Italy's Agnelli, Philips, Feike Sijbesma, John Elkann, Lifenet, Louboutin, Roy Jakobs, Valentina Za, Kim Coghill, David Goodman, Susan Fenton Organizations: Philips Healthcare, REUTERS, Philips, Philips AMSTERDAM, Exor, Institut, Ferrari, Italian soccer, Juventus, ING, U.S . Department of Justice, Thomson Locations: , Netherlands, Exor, Louboutin . New York, Italian, Milan

In mid-2020 Rome secured the lion's share of a 724-billion-euro kitty aimed at helping EU members emerge from COVID greener and more tech-friendly. Italy's 191.5 billion euros ($210 billion) of cheap loans and grants, to be received in tranches through 2026, was intended for productive investments in the bloc's most chronically stagnant economy. MICRO-PROJECTSMore than half the EU money is meant to go on digitalisation and ecological transition, with the rest devoted to sustainable transport, education, social cohesion and health. The government is still awaiting a 19-billion-euro tranche of the EU funds blocked in March over missed policy targets stemming from 2022. It brings Italy's byzantine rules closer to EU standards, but Gobbato said people will initially find it hard to adapt.

Persons: Flavio Lo Scalzo, Rome, Roberto Perotti, Giorgia Meloni, Mario Draghi, Giuseppe Conte, Carlo Messina, Intesa, Vittorio Soldavini, Davide Carlucci, It's, Gustavo Piga, Rome's, Ilaria, Dentons, Gobbato, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Milan's Bocconi University, Treasury, European Central Bank, Technology, Tor Vergata University, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy, ROME, MILAN, tranches, Brussels, Italy's, Italian, Parma

Opposition parties are clamouring for a vote in parliament, but Meloni said on Wednesday that was not about to happen and linked the debate to ongoing discussions on a broader reform of European budget rules. "Italy's interest is addressing negotiations on European governance, which covers the entirety of our national interests," she told parliament. "Meloni does not want to leave the anti-ESM front to Salvini and nobody wants to lose face," he told Reuters. Despite irritation in Brussels over the dithering in Rome, EU officials have told Reuters that any attempt by Meloni to link ESM approval to much more significant budget reform will not pay off. Italy, which has the second largest debt mountain in relation to its GDP in the euro zone after Greece, has criticised the suggestion.

Persons: Giorgia, Meloni, Matteo Salvini, Francesco Galietti, Paschal Donohoe, Francesco Saraceno, Crispian Balmer Organizations: ROME, European Union, Treasury, Reuters, European, Rome's Luiss University, Sciences Po, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Italy, Brussels, Rome, Sciences Po Paris, Greece, Rome's

☆ Italy pushes to limit executive pay in listed state-run firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Top managers' multi-million euro salaries and handsome bonuses have come into focus at a time when Italian families are struggling with an inflation rate that neared 9% in April, well above the euro zone average. According to the government draft, the Treasury will work to "contain management costs" when shareholders vote on remuneration policies at state-controlled listed companies. Monte dei Paschi already applies curbs to executives' pay as a bank that was bailed out by the state in 2017. Under terms agreed with European Union authorities, the total remuneration of any MPS executive may not exceed 10 times the average salary of its employees in 2022. Additional reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Gavin Jones and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Italy's bond, which marks its third green bond and matures on 30 October 2031, was priced to yield 4.056%. Elsewhere, Cyprus raised 1 billion euros from its first sustainable bond, the country's debt office said, becoming the latest European government to enter the market. Sustainable bonds are a broader form ESG debt, proceeds from which can be spent on both green and social projects. Cyprus follows a number of smaller countries including Slovenia and Luxembourg opting for sustainable bonds as they often struggle to find enough projects to back standalone green bonds. Leonidou said Cyprus expects to sell sustainable bonds every two or three years going forward.

ChatGPT has an "absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data" to "train" the chatbot, Garante said. OpenAI has 20 days to respond with remedies or could risk a fine of up to 4% of its annual worldwide turnover. ChatGPT was still answering questions posted by Italian users on the platform on Friday evening. Italy, which provisionally restricted ChatGPT's use of domestic users' personal data, became the first Western country to take action against a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence. The European Commission, which is debating the EU AI Act, may not be inclined to ban AI, European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager tweeted.

The 19-billion-euro tranche is related to the 55 targets and milestones in Italy's pandemic Recovery Plan that were supposed to be reached in the second half of last year. The extra time means Italy has now until the end of April to persuade Brussels to release the funds, a government source told Reuters. Rome has so far secured almost 67 billion euros of the roughly 200 billion it is due to receive through 2026, dependent on it achieving Brussels' policy prescriptions. Rome is eligible for a further 34 billion euros in 2023, split into two tranches, provided it can meet all 96 objectives set for this year. The initial timetable set out in 2021 envisaged spending more than 40 billion euros of them by 2022, but this goal was repeatedly revised down and was most recently set at around 20 billion euros.

Nudged by private equity funds, those supplying the booming luxury goods industry are now finding strength in unity. Largely family-owned and small in size, these businesses often struggle to meet the changing needs of the luxury brands they work for. "Luxury brands have been growing exponentially: our customers needed us to grow with them," said Nicola Giuntini, whose Tuscany-based company makes luxury coats and jackets for brands including Celine, Burberry (BRBY.L) and Stella McCartney. PRODUCTION NICHESItaly's manufacturing sector has also been a hunting ground for big luxury brands keen to secure their supply chain. Italian private equity firm XENON International, for example, has bet on producers of materials and finishes for luxury items which it has grouped together in MinervaHub.

Lufthansa declined to comment on Rome's decision to offer an initial minority stake. Some of Italy's politicians consider ITA as the heir to cultural icon Alitalia, which they want to preserve. Some also say that ITA does not have to worry so much about losing its national identity should Lufthansa take over. The Certares-led alliance was willing to pay 350 million euros for a 50% stake plus one share of the state-controlled airline, sources had said. ($1 = 0.9412 euros)Reporting by Angelo Amante in Rome and Joanna Plucinska in London; additional reporting by Giuseppe Fonte in Rome.

[1/4] Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto poses for a picture during an interview with Reuters, in Rome, Italy, December 16, 2022. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, a co-founder of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, said Rome would make a final decision on how much to invest in the multi-billion-dollar project after more details had been defined. Crosetto said there should be no bar on joining forces with the rival European programme, adding that the GCAP should also aim to find new partners, especially within Europe. Italy has never disclosed details of its shipments, but Crosetto confirmed that Kyiv had requested air-defence systems, including the Franco-Italian SAMP/T. He added that Italy was also open to suggestions for joint procurement by the EU Defence Agency.

The spot where a floating storage and regasification unit will be set up is seen in front of the port city of Piombino, Italy, October 20, 2022. Such a big-scale project will help Italy avert a supply crunch it could otherwise face next winter, but keep it hooked on gas for longer, slowing down its transition to renewable energy. A new rightist government, widely expected to be led by Giorgia Meloni, could be sworn in as soon as next week, with no sign that Rome's line on Piombino project - endorsed by Italy's industrial lobby Confindustria - could be changed. With little domestic gas production and a ban on nuclear power generation, Italy heavily relies on imports for its energy needs. Some local and environmental grassroots associations and unions gathered in Piombino on Thursday for a rally against the project.

☆ Italy election set to crown Meloni head of most right-wing govt since WW2
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, speaks during a rally in Duomo square ahead of the Sept. 25 snap election, in Milan, Italy, September 11, 2022. "There is this idea in Italy that we have tried everyone else, so let's try her now," said Wolfango Piccoli, the co-president of political risk consultancy Teneo. But on the campaign trail she has been careful not to alienate those core supporters who associate with the far-right. Voting runs on Sunday from 7.00 a.m. to 11.00 p.m. (0500-2100 GMT), with full results due by Monday morning. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Crispian Balmer Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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